After missing the last eight games with injury, Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk is ready to return to the lineup just in time for the playoffs. Tkachuk will suit up Thursday night as the Senators close out their regular season against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes—his first game since late March.
Tkachuk was already battling a lingering lower-body injury, originally sustained during the Four Nations Face-Off in Boston back in February. Then he did some new damage to himself in a collision with Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves last month, which has kept him sidelined throughout April.
Tkachuk says he feels great and, for that, we'll take him at his word. But let's be honest. Even if he didn't feel great, there’s no way he’d miss any of this.
“Yeah, I'm in. Ready to go,” Tkachuk told the media on Thursday morning. "I've been feeling great and I'm ready to finish off the regular season on a high note.
“I think it's important to get a game in and get some touches. I haven't played in two and a half weeks, so I don't think it's going to be a big change. It’s just going to be nice to finish off the regular season, finish off the grind that we've put ourselves through and leave the regular season on a good note for our fans.”
Tkachuk will use Thursday's game as a final tune-up before making his long-anticipated postseason debut. When he hits the ice in Game 1 of the Battle of Ontario in Toronto on Sunday night (full series schedule here), he’ll finally drop off the top 10 list of most career games (511) without a playoff appearance—he currently ranks fourth.
There’s always been a belief that Tkachuk’s physical, high-intensity style is tailor-made for playoff hockey, and his standout performance at the Four Nations tournament only reinforced that. If anything, Tkachuk’s challenge will be trying to contain his emotions and stay out of penalty trouble.
There’s probably a part of him that would like to start a fight at the opening faceoff just the way he and his brother did at the 4 Nations tournament.
Tkachuk’s leadership and physical presence have been noticeably absent over the past few weeks, but even without him, the Senators have managed to pull off a 5-2-1 record. That said, Tkachuk’s return is obviously a welcome boost to a team that doesn’t have a single top 40 goal scorer. With 29 goals at the moment, Tkachuk will finish as the Senators top goal scorer for a second straight season.
The captain will slide back into his usual role on Thursday night alongside the two forwards he’s played the most with this season, Tim Stutzle and Claude Giroux. That means Fabian Zetterlund shifts from the left wing to play the right side on the fourth line with Adam Gaudette and Nick Cousins. Thomas Chabot and Artem Zub are being given the night off.
Carolina rested a bunch of key players in Montreal on Wednesday night, allowing the Habs to clinch the league’s final playoff spot. But the Canes are expected to look more like themselves on Thursday in their final dress rehearsal for the playoffs.
Hurricanes projected lineup (NHL.com)
Seth Jarvis -- Sebastian Aho -- Jackson Blake
Andrei Svechnikov -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Taylor Hall
Jordan Martinook -- Jordan Staal -- Logan Stankoven
Mark Jankowski -- Jack Roslovic -- Eric Robinson
Dmitry Orlov -- Jalen Chatfield
Shayne Gostisbehere -- Sean Walker
Scratched: Tyson Jost, Bradley Nadeau, Scott Morrow, Riley Stillman, Domenick Fensore, Skyler Brind’Amour, William Carrier
Injured: None
Senators projected lineup
Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stutzle -- Claude Giroux
David Perron -- Dylan Cozens -- Drake Batherson
Ridly Greig -- Shane Pinto -- Michael Amadio
Nick Cousins -- Adam Gaudette -- Fabian Zetterlund
Tyler Kleven -- Nikolas Matinpalo
Dennis Gilbert -- Travis Hamonic
Scratched: Matthew Highmore, Thomas Chabot, Artem Zub
Injured: Hayden Hodgson (lower body)
Faceoff is 7pm at Canadian Tire Centre.